


"So how did you create this chemistry?"

by eliooliveroliverelio



Category: Call Me By Your Name (2017) RPF
Genre: Armie Hammer - Freeform, M/M, Timothee Chalamet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliooliveroliverelio/pseuds/eliooliveroliverelio
Summary: One week into filming, late at night, Timothée admits to himself that he has been trying to ignore something between them and Armie had too much coffee.





	1. Nintey-eight percent of human communication

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo English is not my first language so please excuse the horrible grammar and false use of commas and also everything else that seems obviously wrong lol. I'm not used to writing with any punctuation anymore. Sometimes its deliberate though. This is also the first thing I've ever finished writing and posted anywhere. There will be more chapters. (I plan on doing Armies POV as well.) Even if no one cares. You're just gonna have to scroll past them, I'm sorry. K. I've never loved a fandom (or movie) more than this one. you all seem so lovely. ok. thats it. (constructive criticism & overall feedback is much appreciated!! I love learning things.)  
> Oh also theres a specific, actual photo that exists that is part of this and I hope you know which one. 
> 
> this is obviously a work of fiction. none of this happened. some nosy part of my brain just likes to think that maybe it could have.

* * *

 

 

 

There was some sort of sexual tension between them.  
Or at least... _something_.  
Something was there. There just was. At least _he_ felt it. It annoyed him.  
  
Because why.  
Why did that have to be the case. Why him and why here, when he was trying his best to be professional. Why a married, nearly thirty year old guy.  
Why a _guy_ in the first place.  
He’d never been opposed to trying things in that direction, he was at a point now where he knew, he’d never truly felt 100% straight or whatever.  
And certainly not after really trying to get into Elios mind. Some guys had made him a litte nervous sometimes in the past and now he was pretty sure why.  
But really?? Now? This guy? Here? At work?  
He had honestly never considered this. He had just hoped the other guy wasn’t going to be a total dick. Maybe that was foolish. To not have considered... this. The chances of this happening just seemed so small, that he just never thought it would.

Its not like he had  _feelings_ for him. God no. No no…  
  
They got along very well yes, laughed a lot, talked about movies, theater, Luca, music, girls he’s dated. Armie had even opened up to him about some intense things when just the two of them decided to go for a walk one evening after dinner with the rest of the cast.  
Crema at night was so pretty and calm.  
Man, that was touching actually. That he felt like he could share stuff like that with him.  
It was all very... friendly. He really liked him. They had become friends.   
But there was also some sort of tension. Something was there and it wasn't leaving.  
No. It was actually kind of increasing.  
  
Elio and Timothée had different personalities, there were certain things Elio would probably never say or do, but they were also quite similar in many aspects. He had lines to learn but he understood and felt Elio very quickly when they finally started filming a little over a week ago. It sort of started feeling like some part of Elio was with him all the time, especially since he’d spent so much time here already. Like he carried him around with him everywhere here.  
They were trapped in Italy, trapped in Crema, given the opportunity to really emerge themselves in the environment. It was almost more difficult to _not_ feel like Elio sometimes.  
Even after work, when they would hang out, ride their bikes or vespas or go to dinner. Because he was  _here_. Nothing about the surroundings really changed, from nighttime to daytime, from home to set. The air was the same, the sounds were the same, the smells, the food, the pace of everything.  
It was all always here and it was all happening here.  
Plus, they had filmed nearly everything in chronological order so far. That sort of made it feel like Armies and his relationship was building almost contemporaneously to the pace of Olivers and Elios.  
They had time to get to know each other before filming, sure but... Elios and Olivers time together was also more than what they actually filmed. It was just cut into little bits to tell the story. It all did feel somewhat symbiotic. And that was all very helpful but it made the lines just a tiny bit blurry.  
Especially now that Armies wife had left.  
  
He had tried using this tension he felt around Armie to his advantage when they started filming, tried turning it into Elios anticipation when Oliver first arrived and such, thinking it must have been overall anxiety, but he very quickly realized that it wasn’t and that it never actually went away and so he just tried ignoring it whenever they weren‘t filming.  
He had to, what else was he going to do.  
But it was still there.  
  


Timothée was sitting on his bed, script next to him that he had been trying to read in an attempt to prepare a little for tomorrows scenes. But he was tired and he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering and had eventually given up and started _really_ thinking about what he’d been trying very hard to ignore, staring down at a random spot on the floor next to the bed, glassy eyed, shoulders slouched forward, completely lost in thought.   
  


Why were the lines so blurred sometimes in his mind during scenes with Armie and yet it still had always worked so far. Shit, worked probably even better.  
Had Luca noticed?  
Did Armie feel it too? Nah. Theres no way.  
But was that even possible. That only one person felt something like this, something thats like... connecting you to the other by an invisible chord with high voltage electricity running through? He _had_  to feel it.  
Or not. No, probably not.  
_You’re just being an unprofessional child._  
  
But it wasn't...  
..it wasn't a _normal_ thing. The way they connected so deeply, so quickly and so effortlessly. It was like their souls were instantly connected or something. That had never happened to him before.  
They did deliberately spend time together at first to get to know one another, but not even ten minutes into their first biking tour ordered by Luca, the thought that this was somewhat of a _necessary chore_ had already completely vanished from his mind. Because he immediately actually wanted to do that. He actually wanted to get to know him.  
Something was there between them as soon as they met. It built the more they got to know one another maybe yes, but it had already existed. It was there as soon as Armie introduced himself to Timothée. Immediately. It had taken him by surprise. He remembered how relieved he was at the good vibes this guy gave him. But he was also a little flustered.  
Fuck, probably very visibly...  
At first he thought it was because of what they were here for. That maybe thats what created this tension, this feeling. Like “Ooh there he is, I’m gonna have to make out a lot with this guy”. Would've made sense. He had been anticipating Armies arrival of course, he’d been in Crema for a while. He WAS nervous. But shit, thats not what it was.  
It wasn’t nervousness, it wasn’t anxiety. That was there too, but that wasn’t it. Thats not what _it_ was.  
Maybe it had nothing to do with the movie at all.  
It was like… electricity that got more intense the closer they got. The kind of electricity that gave him some sort of magical ability to know when Armie had entered the room because he could feel it in his body. Some connection where they didn't even have to talk and it felt like they were still... talking. Chemistry? Sexual tension? Some form of ...attraction? One of those. Who the hell knows. But he has been feeling _something._  Some connection, that he was pretty sure had absolutely nothing to do with the movie. It wasn't because of what they were doing here. Because... he would be getting along with him even if they had met some other way. Yeah, he had no doubt. So... this feeling would probably be there either way.

Fuck.  
  
He subconsciously started biting and chewing the inside of his lips, still absentmindedly staring at nothing on the floor.  
  
Why? What did that mean! Was he crazy?? He can't be _into_ Armie Hammer or whatever the _fuck_ this was.  
He really did not need this NOW, can he please explore his fucking sexuality some other time, why did it have to be now, here, whilst working on a film. On _this_ film!? That’s ridiculous!!??  
  
He was scrunching his eyebrows now, blank stare turning into an angry glare, as if that one spot on the floor he wasn’t actually looking at had personally offended him.  
  
He just wanted to do a good Job and not be occupied by his own thoughts.  
This was NOT the time to soul search.  
This was NOT the time to develop _feelings_ for somebody.  
This was not the person. God it  _really_ wasNOT the person.

_What the fuck are you doing!!!_

  
_Idiot!_  
He abruptly snapped out of his trance, angrily lifted his head up and swiftly turned it the other way, briefly glaring at the script next to him and then let his eyes wander around the room, eyebrows still scrunched, visibly pissed.   
It had gotten significantly darker in the last ten minutes, the only source of light now was his bedside lamp.  
His glaring eyes found his phone on the coffee table across the room. He stared at it for a few seconds and then pulled himself off the bed to check the time on it.  
  
_10:57_.  
Also, no new messages. Just a reminder to “ _Call Mom_ ” from two hours ago.  
Standing there, arms hanging heavy at his sides, he let out a slightly dramatic sigh and looked out the open window.  
He felt a breeze on his face which relaxed his forehead and eyebrows almost involuntarily and made him aware of how tense he was, so he relaxed his shoulders too.  
No more glaring. Just a hint of worry in his eyes.  
The air had cooled off a little. Refreshing after what felt like a week of heat and humidity.  
He smelled garlic. Someone was cooking. It was way past dinner time. Italy was wild.  
  
Suddenly he saw his phone light up from the corner of his eye.

**Armie Hammer  
** _Hey, you up? Wanna come over and go through the script? Or is it too late?_

   
Timothée looked at the text and thought that Armie might have superpowers and had read his mind. Or maybe _he_ was the one with superpowers, made the text appear just by thinking _aw man, no new messages_. He chuckled a little at his own thoughts. Whenever this sort of thing happened, he couldn't help but feel like the universe had some kind control. But then again it might've just been random.  
He didn't even have time to pick up his phone before it lit up again and a series of texts appeared in two second intervals.

**Armie Hammer  
** _I don’t want to knock in case your sleeping  
_

**Armie Hammer  
** _Which I hope you’re not._

**Armie Hammer  
** _Cause I can’t_

**Armie Hammer  
** _And I’m bored._

  
Pleasantly surprised and suddenly energized by Armies texts, Timothée picked up his phone and typed “ _Coming:)_ ”, but then thought  _unnecessary,_ locked his phone instead and put it in his back pocket, keys in the other. He swiftly walked around the bed turning off the lamp on his bedside table, opened the door eager to leave but then turned around again, remembering his script that he should probably be bringing, reached over the bed to grab it, swung around and shut the door behind him.

“Hi! I’m glad you’re still up dude,” Armie said, with a big smile on his face as he let Timothée walk inside, closing the door behind him. “I _just_ got back from dinner, for some reason I ended up having _four_ espressos because they wanted to show me some sort of difference in flavor. Honestly... no fucking clue what they meant, they all tasted the same. But now I am _very_ awake.”

“Hahah! Maybe they just wanted to mess with l’americano.” Timothee turned around to look at Armie who’s face now slowly went from "confused" to a “my god, those fuckers”- expression that made him chuckle.  
"God damn it, you're probably right. That's why Luca said something about sleeping to the waiter! All I understood was _dorme_ and _domani_..."  
  
Timothée had left dinner early because he had a FaceTime-Date with his mom around 9pm his time, which was also the reason he couldn't concentrate on anything important afterwards.  
She had asked a lot of questions.  
Armie made friends with everyone very quickly and the waiters and restaurant owners here loved him because he was so open to every food and every drink, but was also, even though he fit in well, very american at the same time. He was charming, people liked him. Him and Elizabeth together especially. They were an annoyingly good looking couple.

Timothée chuckled at Armies words and looked around the room, acknowledging that Elizabeths suitcase and all her stuff was gone, as he'd just remembered that she had left Crema today. Just Armies things now.  
Elizabeth was pretty cool. She was nice. He didn’t really get to know her _that_ well, she seemed to be a little hard to crack, like she had multiple walls up. Seemingly always happy around strangers. A little over the top. Although he could definitely see her getting real pissed too. But some people are like that. Surely there are reasons.  
He didn't know how long she’d be gone for but he knew she had plans to come back. Understandable, this was like a free vacation in Italy for her.  
They were going to be shooting some more intimate scenes soon and he felt like perhaps it was good that she wouldn’t be here. He got the impression that Armie was always slightly more relaxed and open when she wasn’t on set with him.  
Maybe that was bullshit, but he just sensed something.

Timothée turned and sat on the edge of the bed, throwing his script on the table next to a similar looking one and looked at Armie walking over from the door, eyes following the script landing next to his own with a loud smack. He stopped and looked at it, seemingly contemplating what to do now and then appeared to be having an epiphany.  
“Oh my god!! Do you wanna go for a bike ride?”  
  
He was  _actually_ hyper from the coffee.

“I meeeaan... it’s almost midnight right?”, Timothée looked up at Armie, smiling at his enthusiasm, trying to read whether or not he was actually serious.  
He was never opposed to fun activities, it was just that he also really needed sleep before a day of filming.  
  
As if.  
As _if_ he was going to say no to an overly excited Armie that wanted to ride bikes with him at 11pm.  
The thought overwhelmed him a little though. Because he _really_ wanted to do that, but... he had just spent twenty minutes thinking about tension between them and now night bike riding sounded so fun but...ugh. It annoyed the hell out of him that that was why he was _actually_ hesitant.  
Maybe he shouldn't have even come over.  
“So?” Armie shrugged his shoulders while looking at his watch and then down at Timothée sitting there studying his costars face. He was till sceptical, but probably visibly intrigued  
His smile grew bigger. Armie was like a little kid waiting for his parents permission to have a sleepover at a friends house.  
Armie reached his arm out, nudging Timothées shoulder with his fist and went “Come oooonnn Tiimmmy”, really saying _„You want to and you know it“_.

It really _was_ just a soft nudge. With intent but very lightly and it made Timothée sway to the side like he'd punched him. Well. He _felt_ like he swayed just a little too much maybe.  
  
_Don‘t_. He thought to himself. _Don‘t think about it._  
_We‘re not going to be paying it any attention._ _Stop._  
Because he felt a tingle.  
And some lightning bolts shooting through his shoulder, going down his chest.  
He did not want to feel that. He had felt the tension when he'd entered Armies room and he successfully ignored that so far.  
  
Yes, until now.  
_Great._  
Now he was highly aware of it.  
  
„Yeaahh yeahh sure, let‘s go,“ he shook his head a little saying that, as if laughing at Armie but really he was just literally trying to shake his own god damn thoughts out of his head. „I‘m gonna grab a jacket or something real quick cause it‘s chilly.“ 

   
  
  
They rode down streets they already knew, streets they didn’t, stopped to look into some windows when they found themselves in a street filled with boutiques, shops and cafés. They drove past a bar and Armie insisted they have a shot. On him. They ended up having two disgustingly sweet limoncellos each, the second round on the house, this time insisted by the bar owner, who Armie apparently already knew. After a bunch of _"grazie, grazie"_ 's and polite _"Sì, ci vediamo domani"_ lies, they got back on their bikes and went down familiar streets, laughing, talking, saying nothing for a while.  
They had an unfair race too, started by Armie yelling „RACE TO THE STREET SIGN GO!“ as he was already coming up speeding next to Timmy.  
„You‘re a fucking cheater, how am I -“ he decided to stop talking, went as fast as he could and nearly caught up to him before the sign. Armie still won though.  
„That... was impressive... Chalamet.“ Armie said panting, putting both hands on his sides. „Tha-thanks..“ Timmy was so out of breath, he gave up looking casual real quick, rested his elbows on his handlebar and leaned over it to calm down. Armie laughed a high pitched laugh at the sight. „You‘re a cheater, you know that right? Like... this wasn‘t fair. At all,” Timmy looked back at him, still panting.  
„I'm so sorry! Next time I‘ll give you a call around noon to make sure you‘re ready.“  
„Asshole," he laughed, whilst straightening his body and looking ahead of them, squinting his eyes a little, trying to make out whether he knew where he was or not.  
  
And then he felt weird.  
His body was tingling. Especially his left side felt warmer than his right...  
  
Armie was watching him.  
That's why.  
He could see it from the corner of his eye.  
_Is he??_  
_Yes he is._  
God, why did that make his body go _this_ crazy. He should have gotten used to the feeling by now. Armie looked at him all the damn time. He just did a second ago.  
_No, but not like this._ He wasn't looking back at him and Armie wasn't talking and it seemed...  
... long.   
How many seconds had passed? This felt long.  
Timmy was having trouble concentrating on whatever he was doing just now. What was he doing?  
  
Armie was just softly watching him, standing behind him slightly to his left, seemingly assuming he wasn't in Timmys peripheral vision. Or aware that he was. Or not caring.  
  
_What now?_  He felt his body stiffen, suddenly aware of every muscle that could possibly move, and now they all felt weird.  
  
_Ignore and just keep going, or turn around? Ignore or turn, ignore or turn._  
_Ignore or turn??_  
  
Turn. He turned around with the best, most casual, nonchalant “completely unaware” -face he could muster up, pulling up his eyebrows and he could honestly not remember how the hell he ever finished acting school.  
His eyes met Armies eyes.   
Armie blinked and looked away for a split second and then back into Timmys again.  
No one said anything.  
  
_Is.. is he gonna say something??_  
  
God, Timmys stomach was freaking the _fuck_ out.  
He felt like Armies eyes were staring into his soul, reading every single thought on his mind even though it had only been like two seconds of them looking at each other.  
He shifted his eyes to Armies nose and then mouth instead.  
Anything but the pretty eyes. They seemed scary.  
  
He recalled the first and only real rehearsal they've had so far. If you could even call it that. When they kissed and it was so awkward. And when they kissed again and it worked. It felt forced until it didn’t. There was a point where Armie kind of took control and Timmy had lost himself just a little. Just a little.  
They’d soon have to again. Kiss.  
Oliver and Elios first kiss was coming up. Supposedly the day after tomorrow, if tomorrows shoot went well.  
Oh, his stomach was  _very_ into the idea now.  
  
_No._  
  
_Nope._  
  
_Stop_.  
  
Mouth wasn't good either. Very bad.  
Back to eyes, but now nervously shifting from one to the other.   
  
And then he decided to smile. Smile, hopefully innocently. _Hopefully_ casually. He didn't know what else to do in order to not give away the fact that there seemed to be some party going on in his own stomach, that _he_ certainly was never invited to.  
Armie smiled back immediately, chest falling a little as if he had been tense before.  
  
Timmy had to say something. He felt like every second of silence passing was giving something away that he did not want to give away.  
“You good?”   
 _What?_ He had no idea what he’s asking with that. Just trying to make casual conversation. Or something.  
  
The question seemed to have pulled Armie out of some kind of trance and he looked down at his pedals, did sort of a half nodd, half shake with his head, still smiling and said: “I’m great! So… back home?”   
“Yeah.”  
Timmy watched as Armie turned his bike around, facing the direction they came from and slowly started pedaling. Then he did the same. 

 

They were almost back home, going through narrow streets and alleys they were familiar with when Timmy suddenly noticed that Armie seemed to have fallen behind.  
He pushed on his breaks, slowed down a little, looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of him putting his phone in his pocket.  
Probably a call or a text. Maybe Elizabeth saying she got home safely.  
When Armie had caught up with him he didn't want to ask. Not everything was his business. He had to get his shit together.  
  
The mystery was solved soon enough though when Timothée was in bed ten minutes later, trying to sleep, forcing himself not to think about whatever happened in those few seconds tonight. Because nothing did. _Literally nothing_. Armie had just looked at him, probably thinking about something else.  
He tried focusing on the sound of the owls and pigeons outside when suddenly his phone lit up.

_0:22.  
_ Text from **Armie Hammer**.  
_Had a fun time Tim! Thanks for sweating out my caffeine high with me. Could get used to this!_

And a picture.  
He opened it and saw a poorly lit photo of himself from behind on a bike.  
Timothée stared at it, lying on his side.  
He was not in any way able to suppress the smile immediately growing on his face. He didn't even try.  
Armie had taken a picture of him.

_„Could get used to this“..._

_„Tim“..._

... Okay No.  
_It’s literally just a picture._

   
But his chest felt so warm.  
And his heart jumped.  
And he did not want that. Really.  
But for the first time today, and for the first time since his piano lesson got interrupted by a beaming, taller than expected, irritatingly good looking Armie Hammer, Timothée allowed himself to feel whatever it was he was feeling. Even if it made no sense whatsoever.

  
  
  
And shit, he couldn't stop smiling. 


	2. And then it was just “on”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They film the berm scene and Timothée is feeling courageous. No. Elio is. Or... both...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I am so overwhelmed by the positive response, I genuinely thought maybe three people would read and none of them would enjoy it lol.  
> Thank you. For the comments and the kudos. It means a lot to me really!! <3
> 
> Again disclaimer: English is not my first language and grammar is not my forte. Pls don't kill me.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts. :)

* * *

 

„Guys, I think that is it for today, the sun is way too low. We will shoot the biking scenes tomorrow and then the berm scenes after that as well, I think it should be fine. We’re not behind on schedule anyway. I know I said it before but really, _fantastic_ idea Armie I love it, It adds such a wonderful flow to the dialogue, I wish _I_ had thought of it. Seriously!“  
  
Timotheé and Armie were sitting side by side in chairs in the shade, simultaneously chugging down water from plastic bottles when Luca came over.

They’d just spent almost the entire day filming two scenes at a Monument. One where Elio confesses his feelings to Oliver and another one, where they had to climb it.   
The climbing scene was the first one they had shot out of chronological order so far.  
Crema probably already hated them for shutting down entire streets and Piazzas like this. Now they were even climbing on monuments. _Obnoxious film people.  
_ They filmed at the Perlman Villa this morning too but that seemed like forever ago now.   
The first monument scene took a long time because Luca wasn’t happy and so they tried some things and waited around even more than usual, until Armie had the _„Fantastic!!“_ idea to shoot the whole thing in one take. Giving it sort of a theater play vibe. Luca loved it and it worked.   
Timothée still had the words „ _because I wanted you to know“_ stuck on repeat somewhere in the back of his head, because he’d said them so many times.

This morning, when Timothée got abruptly woken up by his iPhone alarm that he had turned up way too loud the night before, it took him a few seconds to remember why he felt weirdly happier than usual.  
  
The bike ride.  
The looks.  
Armies text.

 _Oh GOD, it’s nothing.  
  
_ He cringed at himself.  
So much that he impulsively jumped out of bed in an attempt to shake the cringe off and leave it in bed or something.  
  
_You must have been really tired to have read so much into that.  
  
_ He then spent ten minutes in the shower telling himself to forget about it, to shake it off, that it was nothing, while shampooing his hair and washing his body.  
_It was absolutely nothing_. _  
_ He probably imagined the whole ‚staring‘ thing. Was he even really sure that’s what happened? Wasn’t it maybe just Armie looking at what he was looking at. Was it really that  _intense_?? No. Probably not honestly.    
And this feeling he thought he had was just because Armie was playing a guy, that the guy _he_ was playing was in love with.   
Nothing more, nothing less.  
_Focus on your job.  
  
  
_ And he actually could. Focus on his job.  
Because it was fun and because Luca freaking Guadagnino was his director, and because he wanted to give his best performance, and because Armie was there.  
_Armie was there_ , yes.   
The stupid tension _was_ there, yes.  
Very much so.   
But that had been there for weeks now, nothing new.  
Ignored it before, he would just ignore it again…   
  
  
  
„Do you wanna have dinner together and watch a movie or something?“  
Armie and Timothée were still sitting in their chairs while the crew around them was packing away equipment now, smoking cigarettes and talking about … _something_ in Italian.    
Sometimes it really frustrated Timothée that he wasn’t fluent in Italian. He only understood snippets. He had lessons for like a month but they mainly focused on the basics and the lines he had to say of course and now, sitting here, he wished he could _really_ understand what they were talking about. Most of them spoke english too but obviously not with each other.  
He couldn’t understand anything. They were talking way too fast.  
The shoot today was good though…  
What was he gonna do tonight? Maybe just go to bed. He was exhausted. Or call Pauline. Wait, time zones. Was it a different one than his? _Man honestly, why do times even have zones, it’s so annoyi_ –   
„Tim?“  
Armie nudged Timothées foot with his own.   
  
„Whaat? Oh! What?“   
  
  
That was a lie.   
Timothée heard him the first time.   
He just really didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t really sure he actually wanted to do what Armie suggested.  
  
_No, bullshit,_ of course he did.   
  
Maybe some part of his brain thought ignoring him was a good way to make Armie _and_ himself understand, that he had in no way shape or form spent two full minutes thinking about his reply last night, eventually settled on a somewhat normal sounding _„Haha yeah sure. any time :)“_ , with a ridiculous giddy feeling in his stomach, and then fallen asleep with a stupid grin on his face right after.   
That didn’t happen.  
_What do you mean „my entire body is highly aware of your presence without me even looking at you“?? You don’t know that. Nope.  
I can ignore you.   
See? Yeah…_

 

 _Man, wow. That’s so stupid_.

 

Armie snorted, looking into Timothées „pretend puzzled face“.   
He honestly felt like it turned out much better than it had last night.  
Maybe because he was still a little in acting mode. Elio mode.  
  
He noticed today that he was a lot better at ignoring the tension he felt between them when he was acting. It didn’t bother him at all when they were in the scene. Because it made sense. It fit right in. Right into the movie. Almost like another character… that never left.  
  
„Do you wanna have dinner and watch a movie? We still haven’t finished that documentary. Actually, we don’t even have to finish that one, it was really boring. You fell asleep ten minutes in. “ Armie said, snorted again and took a drag from his cigarette.  
Luca suddenly appeared again out of nowhere.   
„Bye you guys, I am leaving, I have dinner plans toni- _Cosa?? Ah sì, si prega di portare con voi domani. Potrebbe piovere… non mi auguro, ma solo di essere al sicuro_ \- Sì err… anyway. So yes, I will see you tomorrow.“  
He had yelled something to the camera man in the middle of his sentence and all Timothée understood was something about „rain“ and to "bring something tomorrow“.  
  
„Alright, see you tomorrow.“, Armie said, as Luca was walking away, heavy bag over his shoulder, waving and smiling at them.

 _Tomorrow. Berm scene.  
Mh.  
Oh no.  
Or oh yes? Which one??  
Whatever, stop, stop.  
  
_ Luca seemed very happy about what they had shot today. Good vibes.   
This was a good day. Exhausting but satisfying. He felt a sudden rush of ease streaming over him.   
„Have a good night“, he yelled back at him.  
  
„Sooo… what’re you doin’ tonight?“ Armie asked after a few seconds of silence, pulling up his eyebrows while nodding his head at Timothée, as if chatting him up at a bar.  
It made him laugh. Mainly because Armie had now asked him three times already and both of them knew that the third time was a little unnecessary.  
  
As soon as Armie finished his cigarette and they said goodbye to the remaining crew, they changed into their own clothes again and went out to dinner. A different place than last night - Armie insisted: „No no, not there again, not if I don’t have Luca with me to translate. Those fuckers and their espressos.... _un_ believable…“  
  
Everything was more exciting with Armie. More fun.  
A weird part of him was very happy about Elizabeth not being there and it just being the two of them all the time now.  
He didn’t really like that he had that thought. Seemed wrong. Very, actually.  
But oh well.  
She wasn’t here. And he was hanging out with Armie. And it was fun.  
Those were just facts.

They went up to Armies place after finishing their salads and their guessing game about where that incredibly fancy, non-italian looking elderly couple sitting a few tables down form them could have been from, and started watching another documentary. Next to each other, on Armies bed.  
Timothée was sitting with his legs and arms crossed, leaning against the headboard, hood pulled over his head. It was comfy that way. Armie had both legs stretched out lazily, head resting on a pillow. From where he was sitting, Timothée could really only see the top of his head and not his face.  
He heard birds chirping outside, occasional sounds of cars and vespas driving by, the sunset filling the room with a pretty orange light.

Timothée was trying _real_ hard.    
Trying _very_ hard since dinner really.  
To not feel weird.    
To not feel like it was now different or whatever because of their little _thing_ last night.   
Just because this was now the first time today that they were alone.   
Armie had teased him about the ridiculously unfair race again this morning, but they hadn’t really talked about last night other than that.  
  
What??  
No of course not. _  
Because nothing fucking happened.  
  
  
_ He managed to not pathetically fall asleep this time, because the documentary they were watching was actually interesting and his thoughts kept him awake anyway. Neither of them were really talking much while watching so instead Timothée’s mind did. And it wouldn’t shut up about tomorrow.  
  
They were gonna kiss again.  
  
He couldn’t _not_ think about it.

Technically he really _should_ be thinking about it right, since this was like… his job.  
They hadn’t even talked about it today. Him and Armie. Let alone _rehearsed_ anything.  
But that was probably better for the authenticity of the scene anyway…  
He shot a glance at Armies head and then quickly looked back at the TV, as if Armie had eyes on top of his head and could have possibly caught that.  
_  
_ Mike Tyson was interesting but the images his brain was presenting him with when thinking about tomorrow were what his mind really wanted to focus on and his stomach seemed to be applauding every time he let it. He felt like his body was radiating more heat than usual.  
_Can he read my mind maybe?? What if he’s the only person in the world that can secretly read minds. Dear god, please I hope not.  
_

He probably spent more time paying attention to gently guiding his thoughts back to the documentary than actually paying attention _to_ the damn documentary.

When they were done and Netflix suggested something about boxing for them to watch, Armie told him about a _„traumatic but hysterical“_ first-boxing-memory from his childhood, where he couldn’t fall asleep one evening, walked into the living room and saw two men gruntingly hugging and hitting each other on the TV.  
All Timmy could really think about was Armies childhood and parents that he had kind of told him about, and he immediately felt sad and angry for him, even though that had literally nothing to do with his story.   
He felt himself choking up.    
Getting more emotional than necessary over things that don't even make sense was an obvious sign to go to bed.   
He was exhausted.

Timothée was in his own bed five minutes later. He fell asleep instantly, dreaming about the exact scenes they had shot today but at night instead…  and with just Armie, him and Luca standing a few feet away from them... Luca was just watching… with a smile on his face. And then something about Armie as a kid in pajamas looking startled at a tv that was playing… gay porn?? Gay porn. And then Armies mother suddenly stormed in and started yelling something about sin...

 

 

 

 

 

„Are you chewing gum??“ Timothée asked Armie mockingly, leaning over to look at armies mouth moving, as they were sitting on the grass next to each other.  
  
It was the day of the berm scenes.   
The last scene they filmed was one where he took a step up to Oliver mustering his face, kind of going _„ I’m not afraid of you. Dare you to kiss me“,_ smiling at him and even in the moment he couldn’t help but feel like that was quite similar to what "happened" the other night.   
   
„Yeah, mint“, Armie saw that Timothée was teasingly smiling at him and his own smile grew bigger. „Listen, I had a tuna salad for lunch, I’m doing this for _you_. You want one?“  
Timothée chuckled at the fact that Armie was chewing mint gum before their kissing scene. Very thoughtful. „Yeah sure,“ he shrugged his shoulders, reaching for the pack of gum Armie was holding out for him.  
They both had their arms around their knees, scripts in hand, enjoying the view. Pretty! Timothée loved it here. So calm and beautiful. Reminded him of France and his childhood, when they would spend their summers there.    
  
He was a little nervous.   
But this was really just like any other kissing scene he had done before, and there had been a few. So like… this would be fine.  
Really. Yes. He had such a good partner that he got along with so well. It was all good.  
This was important for Elio. An important scene. He was in the right headspace for it. Had been listening to some music before. Elio was present.   
  
Luca came over and they both looked up.  
„So Armie, we discussed this but there is the dialogue, „ _I love this Oliver“_ and so on, and then you get up a little and trace your fingers over his lips, like how you did with the statue, like we talked about, you remember. It is important that you do not rush, just take your time, and then just let it happen.“  
„Do you want me to kiss him or him to kiss me? Does Oliver clearly make the first move here, I’m not.. entirely sure…“, Armie asked, looking up at Luca, squinting his eyes because of the sun.  
„No, yes, hesitant of course but yes. But Timothée you desire this, Elio has been waiting for this, right… You will do it, just do it, don’t overthink. Okay let’s go.“  
They both nodded, Armie seemingly a little confused, probably not completely sure what Luca had just said.  
  
Timothée felt like the tension between them suddenly got more intense. A little less ignorable.   
Good, maybe? It should be present in this scene.   
_Yes yes okay this is fine. It makes sense.  
  
_ „Gotta spit my gum out“, Armie murmured, put his gum in the wrapping paper he still had in his hand and stood up. „Wait!“, Timothée held out his already wrapped gum to Armie, who let it fall into his hand and then proceeded to walk to the table behind them.„Wait wait, this too! …Please“, he said again, holding out his script. Armie smiled at him as he reached his arm out to grab it. He put everything away and was back instantly.  
Quick hair and make-up check up and then they began.  
  
Birds chirping. Sun blazing. Quiet and calm. Elio and Oliver next to each other in the grass.  
So much electricity between them, it felt like you could cut the air with a knife.  
He was fine. Elio mode.

  
„I love this Oliver“  
  
„What?“  
  
„Everything“

„Us, you mean“

„It’s not bad… not bad“

Oliver leaned over. Finger tracing.  
  
  
Were Armies fingers shaking a little? Timothées mind left Elios just for a split second.   
  
Was Armie _this_ nervous?  
He was _nervous_!  
  
_Focus,_ he told himself as.. Oliver turned his head gently to the side to face him.  
He got up on one elbow, Elios face close to Olivers. Timothée felt Armies hand on his chin immediately pulling him in for a kiss.  
  
Armie was going real fast.  
This was rushed.  
He let it happen though, Elio wants this so bad, so maybe this is right.  
  
Their lips connected. They kissed.  
A lot of tingles in his stomach. But they got weaker again very quickly. Armie was going too fast.  
They kissed again. And then Armie stopped and turned. Well… Oliver did.  
Timothée felt like this kiss wasn’t good.  
They weren’t on the same level at all. It was rushed, it almost felt forced, theres no way this looked the way it should.   


„Cuuut, cut, what are you doing? No no no…“, Luca yelled from behind.  
  
He was right.  
  
„I said don’t rush, this is too fast. You are covering up the nervousness and hesitance about kissing Elio by simply rushing it. This makes no sense. We need to _see_ it, _feel_ it…“  
Timothée was lying on his stomach in the grass, facing Luca. He watched him talk, making lots of hand gestures and heard Armie next to him going „yeah, yeah you’re right, sorry, sorry“ a couple times.

He _was_ listening but he also had about a billion thoughts at once running through his head.

„It’s okay, just please do not rush. _Embrace_ it, _allow_ it to happen. Do not think, just _be_.“  
  
  
They did it again.  
  
  
„I love this Oliver“  
  
„What?“  
  
„Everything“

„Us… you mean“

  
„Mh… It’s not bad… it’s not bad“  
  
Oliver leaning over. Finger on lips.  
  
Timothée made the conscious decision before they started this take, to not let Armie rush this time, if it felt like he did again. He just wasn’t going to let him.  
He was pretty sure Armie was nervous and that's why he was rushing.  
And while his mind had a lot of interesting, probably completely untrue ideas as to why that could be, he tried focusing on a solution to the problem for now. He could think about this later.  
For now, he felt like he should maybe take over a little.  
  
He opened his mouth and let Armies finger trace his lips. Still a little shaky. He let his tongue flick out, licking his finger just a little.   
This already felt better than before.  
_Hot._  
_Mh._  
He had an idea.  
  
Oliver turned Elios head again and they looked at each other for a second.    
Eyes meeting eyes.  
Eyes resting on lips. Slower than before. Better.  
Timothée felt a burst of tingles again somewhere in his stomach.  
_Oh._    
Armies eyes looked so warm. Soft. And worried or something.  
He got up on one elbow and felt Armies fingers on his chin, pulling him in gently but Timothée had an idea before and he was going to commit.  
He went in to kiss Armie, who was trying to meet his lips, but instead of connecting them, he pulled back again slightly.  
Open mouthed.  
Teasing.  
Armie was not expecting that. It confused him a little, Timothée could tell.  
  
He felt Armie letting out a very quick, almost inaudible nervous chuckle.  
_Cute.  
_ He quietly chuckled too, mouth still open.  
Armie was probably not sure where the hell this was going but he seemed to have decided to just trust him now and go with it, allowing Timmy to do whatever he wanted, because he dropped the hand that was still on his chin.  
And then Timothée just did it.  
This was maybe a bold move, possibly not at all what Luca wanted, but he was just going to try it. It felt like something Elio would do. It felt like something that would work for the scene.  
He slowly licked up Armies lower lip, moving to his upper lip and kissed him right after.  
  
His lips tasted like mint.   
Probably a mixture of armies gum and his own.  
  
Armie kissed him back immediately.  
Their lips connected perfectly.  
It was soft.   
This kiss was so different.  
It was slow and it was nice.   
_It was nice._    
His stomach very much agreed.  
  
When they pulled apart, nothing felt forced anymore, it just happened.  
Armies hand went up to Timmys face and neck and he pulled him in again, and it made Timmy fall forward a little more than he intended to, because he wasn’t expecting… something about it. He wasn’t even sure what. Maybe Armies intent. _Olivers._ Olivers intent.  
Timmys plan had worked.  
This was passionate, this felt right.    
_Very.  
_ Elio wants this, Elio is into it, very much so, and that was good because he wasn't necessarily... appalled by it either.

  
They kissed more. He felt Armies right thumb reaching around his throat just a little.  
It was just the slightest touch but it caused Timmy to feel an intense tingle.   
Not really in his stomach though.  
A little lower this time.  
And then Armie pulled away.  
Timmy nearly fell on him, some of it was deliberate but he really _did_ almost lose his balance. He knew this was coming but his arms were a little like jelly.  
He landed in the grass on his stomach and… _  
…_ this was acting of course it was, but that was also a _good kiss_. It was good.  
Oh, he really did not hate kissing him. Not one bit. No reason to pretend. It was a good kiss. Elio agreed. His body agreed. _Good._

„Better now?“

Elios inner monologue took over.  
_No. Not better now. Not enough._ _Wanna go back in, wanna go back in.  
Going back in. _  
He eagerly leaned over to kiss him again.  
  
This wasn’t hard.  
This was now pretty easy.  
This wasn’t horrible at all.    
_More_.  
  
And then he was pushed away.  
„No no no“ „we should stop“ - Oliver couldn’t.  
„What?“-Elio didn’t get why not. Maybe a little embarrassed that he just did that and got rejected, while simultaneously also quite horny and not giving any fucks for once.  
„I know myself“ „We’ve been good“ „I wanna be good“  
  
_Mhh sure. Sounds boring._    
  
And then Timmy grabbed Armies junk.  
  
  
He talked to Luca about this a few hours ago, talked through Elios intention behind it. Besides the obvious fact that he was horny.  
„… it is also really Elios way of opening himself up to Oliver, he does not care anymore, he does not hide it. This is who I am, this is what I want, see, I can even touch it… Very defiant. Oliver has kissed him so why would he not want _this_ … you know… he clearly does. Elio knows this. But it is courageous, blatant, Elio is quite brave here I think… wouldn’t you say?“, Luca had said to him.  
„Yeah. It is courageous…“  
  
  
They had not rehearsed this however.  
And he has seen bulges in Armies short shorts. But his hand was touching a lot more than he expected.  
There was a lot.  
His hand wasn’t even holding everything and he always thought his hands were pretty big.  
He was having a hard time looking into Armies eyes. Because he was either going to start laughing or it was going to be.. too intimate. Either or.   
Armies dick was huge. And so were his balls.  
  
_Oh my god,_ he genuinely couldn’t help thinking that. _Oh my god stop._  
Well maybe.. would Elio be thinking this?! Probably yes actually.   
He was very thankful that this shot was from behind because he wasn’t too sure about his current facial expressions.

 _Hey I'm grabbing your dick and you're not really moving away right now soo..._  
„Am I offending you?!“  
  
„Just don’t“  
_Mh.  
_  
Oliver got up.  
„I think it’s getting infected.“    
  
_Why is this asshole showing me his beautiful body now. That does look painful though._  
„We can stop by the pharmacy on the way back“  
  
„Excellent idea.“  
Timmy got up. Walking away. Done.  
Cut.  
  
  
  
Luca was in love.  
„Timothée yeees!!! I _love_ it! It was _peeerfect,_ that was _perfect_ the kiss was beautiful, the licking of the lips, belissimo, we don’t need another one! That one is it.“  
  
  
Half an hour later they filmed the crotch grabbing scene again from the front.  
Luca loved his improvisation before and it really encouraged Timothée, so he let his hand grab and then wander down some more this time. Might as well go in a little. Since he did feel like Elio would absolutely enjoy that.  
Embrace the friendly.. dick grab.

  
_Friendly dick grab... Haha wow._ His own thoughts almost made him laugh out loud.  
Maan, there really was a lot.  
What even was his job.  
He still had a hard time really looking Armie in the eyes while doing that though. For multiple reasons.

 

 

 

 

A few hours later Timothée was lying on his bed with only a towel loosely around his waist, wet hair soaking the sheets.  
He had taken a shower as soon as he got home and then stumbled to his bed, trying not to trip over his shoes and the clothes that he had shed on the floor on his way to the bathroom.   
He was scrolling through instagram for a while but he really didn’t care much and so he let his left hand holding the phone drop on the bed, his right one resting on his stomach.  
  
_You did good,_ he said to himself.  
He was proud of today, he did a good job.  
  
For some reason he felt _very_ confident when they filmed the kiss the second time.  
Why?  
Because Armie was nervous?    
  
_Right_ , Armie was _so_ nervous.    
He really was wasn’t he?  
Why exactly did that give _him_ so much confidence though. Maybe because he felt like he had to take control of the scene. Maybe that’s just his personality. He wasn’t particularly insecure or anything before either…

 _No you know exactly why.  
  
_ Because he had some ideas as to why Armie could have been so nervous.  
Because he was nervous kissing a _guy_ like _that_ maybe.  
Maybe because he was nervous just doing a kissing scene in general.  
Maybe both.    
Or… perhaps because he was nervous kissing _Timothée_.  
  
_That’s stupid, of course not.  
_ But maybe? Just maybe.

  
Timothée really did always feel more confident or whatever around Armie when he was acting though. He was _so_ not like that the other night when they were riding their bikes. When there was no one else but Armie staring at him, smiling at him. He did not feel then like Elio did today. So not confident. Not courageous. No, the exact opposite, he remembered feeling like he couldn’t even move.

  
His thoughts wandered to the kiss.    
How it felt the second take.  
How Armies nerves had calmed down literally by the touch of Timothées _tounge_.  
The way Armies thumb wandered to his throat before he pulled away. That was a nice sensation.  
That was.. a good kiss.    
His stomach loved him thinking about it in detail almost as much as Luca loved his life when he realized how good the kissing scene turned out today.

He couldn’t help that anymore.  
It annoyed him. Still. It _fucking_ annoyed him. Because it’s so _childish_! Like man wow sure, leave it to the youngest actor on set to develop _feelings_ for their costar.    
Or.. not feelings.   
_God._ No like.. be.. attracted to them. Is that what it is??  
Just a casual stomach tingle here and there.  
_Fuck_.    
  
Whatever, he _couldn’t_ help that. His stomach was just literally doing whatever the hell it wanted. He clearly had no control.  
  
He closed his eyes and his brain immediately delivered him the scenes they filmed today as a movie playing behind his eyelids. He let his stomach go crazy.  
Armies warm, soft eyes looking down at him before they kissed. There was something in his eyes that Timothée could not define. What was it. Worry? Fear? Hesitance? Desire? Doubt? Remorse? He had no idea.  
Maybe all of them. Oliver was supposed to feel that way and Luca clearly wanted Armie to show it all. But wow he really did. Armie was such a good actor. How he fit all those emotions in his eyes at once was mind-blowing to him.  
Was there a hint of Armie in there maybe or was it all Oliver?

_Okay, you don’t control your stomach but you do control your thoughts._

He rolled his eyes at himself, frowned and sat up hastily, not bothering with the towel that slipped and was now only covering up part of his left leg.

 _Just don't.  
__Ignore it.    
__It was a good scene.  
A scene. Scenes.  
__A movie. Acting. He was acting. It wasn’t Armie. It was Oliver.    
  
__Oliver. Elio.    
__That’s what you’re both doing here. Acting.  
__Not here for anything else.  
Good?  
Good!  
  
_ All of a sudden his heart skipped a beat and he nearly let out a startled scream. Eyes wide open, sitting there naked, he stared at the door. Somebody had knocked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally am excited for the next chapter.


	3. It’s none of your damn business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timmy and Armie have a deep talk, lots of drinks and Timmy realizes that alcohol might be counterproductive when trying to ignore feelings. Tipsy things happen. Oh...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Tell me what you think and thank you for the love I am beyond surprised and happy people actually like reading this.

Timothée had been so in his head that the three loud knocks on the door startled him as if he’d heard a gunshot.  
Who could that be?  
_Armie?  
  
_ Another knock.  
„Timmy?“  
  
Armie.  
_Oh god I’m naked._  
He quickly wrapped his towel around his waist and hesitantly walked towards the door, while yelling „Hey, I’m… really naked. I… let me put some clothes on.“ He stumbled around his room trying to find fresh underwear, hectically putting them on once he found some. They would be naked in bed with each other soon anyway, but now was.. not the time.  
He heard Armie laugh. "Oh! I was just gonna let you know that the car is waiting downstairs to pick us up“, he said from behind the door.  
  
_Whaat??  
_ Fuck, he completely forgot about that!  
Today was Saturday and because they had an off day tomorrow, the cast and some of the crew had dinner reservations and plans to go to some kind of bar. Or club. One of those. He must have been in the shower way longer than he thought.  
_Yeah, oops_. He _had_ been there for a long time..  
  
_„_ Oh shit, I totally forgot. Is it _that_ late already?!“, he said as he struggled to get into his pants and then finally opened the door for Armie, shirt and shoes still missing, hair still very wet.  
Armie looked him up and down and laughed at the sight of a disheveled Timmy that had very clearly lost track of time.  
„No it’s actually here five minutes early. But I saw it outside my window and thought I’d let you know. And obviously… that was a good idea.“   
„Mhh hah shit thank you yes, okay, do you want to go downstairs already? Or do you wanna come in, or..?“, Timmy stuttered while looking frantically around his messy room and then back into Armies amused face.  
He let the shoulder shrugging Armie walk inside, closing the door behind him. A really nice smell followed him that made Timmy slightly lightheaded for a second.  
  
„ _Wow._ “ Armie laughed as he let his eyes wander around Timmys room. He had been in here before but it must have gotten significantly messier over the last week.  
Timmy ignored his judgment because he really didn’t have time.  
He didn’t have time, but yet he still stood there by the door, looking at Armies back.  
Armie looked really good. Something was different about his hair..  
_Ok, get ready.  
_ As he was running around his room trying to find a decent shirt to wear while simultaneously looking for his socks, Armie sat down on a chair next to a table, and then just started watching him, still visibly amused. Timmy felt his eyes on him but he really didn’t have time to think about that.  
When he was in the bathroom looking for deodorant he heard Armie saying: „You know you really went to town on my balls today. I talked to Luca and he said they are gonna digitally remove some of it, because my damn shorts were so short and my balls were clearly showing.”  
_  
Oh my god.  
  
_ „Haha I’m sorry." Timmy grinned at his own reflection from cheek to cheek while putting on deodorant. „But honestly, I couldn’t really help it, your balls might just be _huge_ man, have you considered that?“  
Timmy poked his curly, wet head out the bathroom door to look at Armie who crossed his arms above his chest and laughingly opened his mouth, shaking his head, as if stunned and speechless at Timmys boldness.    
_Also, was he blushing?  
__Definitely blushing._  
Timmy was ready to go two minutes later, not really overwhelmed by the way he looked but also not caring too much. It’s not like they were going to an important event or anything. They walked downstairs and both got in the back of the car that would take them to the restaurant they were meeting everyone at.  
  
They hadn’t really talked about today. And it kind of bothered him. Usually they talked about scenes a lot more but Timmy didn’t know what to say either.  
„ _Hey you were pretty nervous about kissing me today, good thing I saved us with my tongue“_ just didn’t seem like a good conversation starter. If anything he felt like Armie had to say something first. Which… yeah, he kind of did by mentioning the balls thing before. But they had to leave and now there was a stranger in the car with them.  
And.. it was just another scene anyway. And it’s not like it had taken them eight takes or whatever, it was literally just two. Big deal.  
But there was a different kind of tension between them now. The same one was still there, oh he sure felt it, but it was also a little more awkward and he didn't like that.  
No, maybe it was just in his head.  
He probably made it a bigger deal than it was. Whatever. They would talk later. He was sure they’d have drinks and that would loosen things up. Armie loved drinks.  
  
Everyone was already waiting for them when they arrived and had saved them the last two seats at the end of the table.  
The food was good. The restaurant was very loud, the waiters very excited and the San Pellegrino and Pinot Grigio bottles were empty and replaced very quickly. Esther sat across from Timothée and he ended up talking to her a lot more than anyone else because she seemed lonely considering the fact that her English really wasn’t all that good and besides, he enjoyed speaking French.   
He really liked her. She was lovely. A lot less shy and more talkative when speaking french, understandably so. He understood the frustration when speaking a different language and not being able to articulate yourself as quickly and well as you would like.  
He was also still fangirling on the inside because of who her father and brother were.  
Although he did have to pull his mind back to the conversation a couple of times, because Armie was right next to him, and this old and new tension between them was distracting. And fucking annoying. He was so glad that this was probably not something anyone else could see or feel.  
  
When everyone was done with dinner and some ordered desert, Armie asked him if he wanted to come outside with him. For a smoke.  
He did.  
They both took their wine glasses with them and walked outside, bumping into some of the crew and Victoire, standing outside the restaurant smoking too.  
Timothée saw two chairs on the side of the house a few feet from the door and gestured to Armie whether or not he wanted to sit there. He did.  
Armie put a cigarette between his lips and Timothée took one too.  
He usually didn’t, but meh… sometimes he did. Sometimes when he had some alcohol and felt like it. Not good. But oh well.  
He wasn’t drunk though. He felt a little buzz, but not really. He was on his first glass of wine still, although it was almost empty.  
They sat for a while, not talking. The others went back inside and then it was just them.  
  
“Can I ask you something?” Armie had been looking in the distance while smoking his cigarette and now turned his head to briefly look at him.   
Timmy looked back and saw the serious expression on his face.  
He nodded.   
_This seemed like it was going somewhere interesting, whatever that means. Maybe about today.  
  
_ “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”  
  
_Oh god, what_?    
  
Timmy scrunched his eyebrows and smiled.  
Where the hell was this going.   
“Okay…?”

Armie looked at the cigarette in his hand and then started talking.  
  
“Are you.. straight!?”

_Oh my god, WHAT?_

Timmy couldn’t help but laugh a little. He was not expecting that. And just everything about the way Armie asked that was somehow adorable.  
Armie seemed relieved that Timmy took it so lightly because he looked at him and his serious expression turned into a smile immediately.  
“I mean... I.. yeah, I guess we’ve never asked each other that...” Timmy said.  
“No it’s not important really, it doesn’t.. matter but... I don’t know“, Armie shrugged his shoulders „I guess I’m just curious. I’ve been thinking a _lot_ here…“

Two people walked out of the restaurant to their left and Armies eyes followed them as they passed by them.   
Timmy was watching them too but not really, because he was now solely thinking about what Armie just said. This really _was_ interesting.  
“Yeah, me too”, he nodded.  
Armies eyes were on him now. “So, are you?”, he said but he then suddenly shook his head and looked away. “Wait, no, I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I don’t know why I even care, it really doesn’t matter.”    
  
“Haha it’s fine... I don’t mind“, Timmy said softly.  
He really didn’t mind.  
Even though it did make him nervous that Armie out of all people was the one to ask him that, it also didn't  _because_ Armie out of all people was the one to ask him that.    
And because he kind of wanted to know his answer now.  
  
“I.. I'm not sure honestly.” Timmy said and looked at him but then looked away quickly again. Armies blue eyes were staring into his soul again and that wasn’t good, he couldn’t concentrate on talking when they did that.  
“I guess I’ve never really thought about it. I .. no actually that’s not true. At all. I have. But I never... I guess _cared_ enough to _really_ experiment or anything... I mean I’ve drunkenly kissed one of my friends before but that doesn’t really count… but I…” Timmy wasn’t sure what he was saying. He was having a hard time articulating what he was thinking. He wasn’t even sure _what_ he was thinking.  
Armie let him stutter and think though, without interrupting. One of the things Timmy really appreciated about him. It seemed like Armie cared enough about what he had to say that he waited for him to form his thoughts. Not everyone’s like that. Not everyone leaves you time to think and even encourages it rather than finding it weird and being impatient.  
  
“I feel like _now_ I look back on things and certain situations and moments where I felt different around certain guys and at the time, even if I … even if I subconsciously knew why, I never really... did anything about it. But.. but now I don’t think it will be like that necessarily from this point on. Honestly as soon as I read the book and stuff, part of me was maybe even.. like.. interested in the role _because_ of that.. in a weird way. The book really resonated with me I think… ” He wasn’t looking at Armie while talking and Armie wasn’t looking at him either. They were both absentmindedly watching the fountain in front of them.    
“Does that make sense..?” Timmy asked, swiftly turning his head to look at him.  
“Absolutely!” Armie nodded his head slowly, still staring at the fountain. He went to take a drag from his cigarette but it had burned out and so he lazily dropped it on the ground next to his chair.   
  
“But I’m not.. I’m not gay. I like girls, a lot.” Timmy suddenly felt the need to say that since he didn’t really clarify before. He said it very quickly almost defensively, waving and holding up his hands and then instantly felt weird about it. Like... as if there was anything wrong with that... but he just wanted to clarify.  
He put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table next to him.  
_Ugh, calm down you’re the lead in a gay movie, I think Armie knows you didn’t mean it like that.    
  
_“Right. So.. you’re bi?” Armie asked, turning his head to look at him.   
  
Timmy nodded and shrugged his shoulders at the same time “Yeah maybe... probably... I don’t know. I guess you don’t need to experiment in order to _know_. But labeling it seems difficult still, I don’t know. I’m just like... me ..right now. Who cares. I’m young I guess. I’ll figure it out. ”    
“Oh yeah, no dude totally! I didn’t mean to pressure you.”  
“You’re not pressuring me, I actually like talking about it for once.” Timmy smiled at how careful Armie was. Almost a little too much. But maybe that was a generational thing, sometimes he forgot that Armie was nearly ten years older than him.

 _Oh!    
_He just remembered what Armie had told him about his mother. How she reacted when he accepted and told her about this role. The things she has said to him and how very religious and conservative she was.   
How could he forget that. He was so busy with his own shit that he completely forgot that this might be a sensitive topic.  
  
“I never really considered the fact that bisexuality is a thing until I read this book.”, Armie said after a few seconds of silence, crossing his arms, eyes back on the fountain „that’s probably  _very_ ignorant and _very…_ bi…phobic but honestly, I always just had _gay_ and _straight_ as sexual orientations in my head and the thought of someone being _both_ at the same time seemed unrealistic _._ If a guy said he was into both I’d always think that he was really just gay. Liking men just meant that.”   
Armie turned his head to look at Timmy again, shrugged his shoulders and continued. „But that’s bullshit! I mean you can even just like... love whoever the _fuck_ you want to love without _ever_ putting _any_ sort of label on your sexuality. It’s so fluid? It’s actually amazing!”    
Armies revelations made Timmy happy. He agreed of course. Armies views had obviously changed a little because of this role, and he felt the same way, even if not as drastically as him.  
“Yeah, it is”, Timmy said, smiling at him.  
  
Four young people on bikes drove by, loudly talking over each other in italian.  
  
“So.. do you think.. you.. I mean what do _you_ think?”  
_Ugh_ , Timmy cringed at his question. Why did he ask that like a twelve year old afraid of saying the word “sex” or something.  
He wasn’t sure if asking Armie the same question was okay now. He didn’t want to dig too deep and he also just realized that the answer was more important to him than it probably should.   
  
Armie looked into his eyes, not saying anything at first. This time Timmy didn’t look away. His mind was too busy trying to make out whether his question was appropriate or not than to pay any attention to the stupid tiny tingles in his stupid stomach.  
Before Armies eyes left his he saw something in them that he didn’t like. He looked worried, and it made Timmy sad because this shouldn’t be the case no matter what his answer was going to be.   
  
“I honestly don’t know.” Armie finally said, shaking his head.   
“You don’t have to…”   
“No I mean I don’t know like.. anything. I don’t know”, Armie said again and looked away.  
  
_Ok, he doesn’t know... anything. What does that mean.  
  
_ “I've never thought this intensely about it before really but I think I knew that I would here before I said yes to Luca. He really had to convince me, did you know that?”   
  
“Yeah, he told me a little..” Timmy answered. Luca had told him about Armies hesitation. He had also told him about what kind of person he thought Armie was and how he knew he would be the perfect Oliver. And that he would be very shocked if Timmy and Armie wouldn’t get along. Smart man.  
  
Armie nodded, smiled to himself and said: „I hesitated for reasons that I’m now a little ashamed of admitting but it’s just the truth. I really was a little afraid of it. The fact that this is a _gay_ movie. Even though it’s not really, but you know what I mean.” Timmy nodded quickly, carefully watching Armies face.  
“I was scared because I was afraid of _it_. Everything. It just scared me it seemed like too much. And _now_ , I mean I can’t even _tell_ you how happy I am that I said yes. Honestly for many reasons, meeting _you,_ working with Luca and everyone, but also because I think this has already opened my eyes to..I don’t know… a lot of things. I've played a gay role before, kissed guys, but it was never like _this,_ you know? This is very different. And the possibility of liking both men _and_ women or simply being okay with not limiting yourself and just being open to everything or whatever, that never occurred to me until now. I love my wife. I am attracted to my wife. Of course. And people, probably including her, including my mother, _god_ I mean including _me,_ just assume that makes me a _heterosexual_ man…“, Armie shrugged his shoulders again, “but maybe it doesn’t.”

Timmy had been watching Armie talk the entire time. Watching his lips move.   
He really liked him so much. What a wonderful human.   
He could tell Armie had been thinking about this a lot, just by all the things that were now coming out of his mouth. He felt sorry and simultaneously happy for him.   
Armie looked at him and Timmy suddenly realized he was just staring and not responding.  
“I.. yeah no, it doesn't have to mean that at all. I'm.. I’m sorry that this has been a struggle for you. In general I mean. ‘Cause so many people feel this way, it’s not like I don’t struggle with it. But it’s so not necessary. I mean who the hell cares right?”  
“Yeah”, Armie slowly nodded and smiled at him, arms still crossed. “Love is love I guess.”   
“Love is love.”, Timmy nodded.  
  
And then his heart started racing.   
He knew this was coming at some point. This conversation they were having was always going to set off something in him at some point, he knew it from the get go.   
They were looking at each other, both softly smiling, “love is love” still ringing in Timmys ears.  
Aaand there were the tingles again.  
  
_Stupid fucking tingles.  
__  
.... no actually, they felt really nice.  
  
_ Timmy looked away and took a sip from his wine. _  
_ “I really like you Timmy. I'm so glad we met.”, Armie said, smiling and nodding his head as if Timmy had asked him.  
_Ohhhh._  
Timmy nodded quickly, smiling at Armie „I really like you too, I’m glad I’m shooting this movie with you and not some gross, disgusting asshole.“  
Armie laughed, throwing his head back.  
„Haha it’s true.“, Timmy said, raising his shoulders and arms like _„I dunno man what can I say“_.  
  
Their eyes found each other again. Armie smiled. Timmy smiled. No one said anything. Again.  
Just like the other night, but this time they were way closer to each other and it wasn’t as dark outside yet.  
_Stupid tingles stupid tingles stupid tingles.  
_ Timmy was so angry at his stomach for doing that. This was just _friendly_! He was so at war with his own body and feelings, this could not be healthy.  
  
And then suddenly everything got loud.  
The restaurant door had opened and he saw Luca and a bunch of others coming out, talking.    
  
“Ahhh, there they are!” He came over, holding a cigarette in his hand. “Eeelio and Oliveeer!” He looked like a proud dad.  
“I thought you didn’t smoke?” Timothée asked, looking up at him with a grin on his face.   
“I don’t.”   
Luca seemed tipsy.   
All three of them chuckled at the obvious reference to the scene they had shot yesterday.   
  
“I am still so happy about the kissing scene today. Soo good Timothée.“, he looked at him almost longingly and his knees sunk in a little. „And you too of course Armie. But Armie your balls... are you sure you want them removed? I think it could be quite funny having that in there. Very real, no??”   
“Yeah no I’m sure” Armie laughed and seemed a little uncomfortable.

They went back inside a few minutes later, had more wine, talked some more. They got into a car again about an hour later, heading back to some bar that Luca loved: “ I don’t go out much but _when_ I do it’s there, I think you will like it, it's really cool“, he said to Timothée, as they were sitting in the backseat of the car next to each other. Luca had his arm tightly around Timothées, who was squeezed in between him and Esther, Armie was in the front talking to the driver.

Timothée was really enjoying himself. The bar (which was really more like a club) really was fun. Armie seemed eager to get him a refill the whole night, while simultaneously drinking a lot himself, getting more and more drunk and also a lot louder.  
  
Timothée didn’t mind the refills. Why not. Might as well have some fun on their day off.   
He showed off his Elio dance moves to everyone at one point, because Luca and Armie wouldn’t stop asking.   
He tried pulling Armie on the dance floor but failed to get him to dance. It was fun. Lots of laughter, lots of talking, lots of drinks.  
  
Luca disappeared at some point and so did a lot of the others, so it was just tipsy crew members, Victoire, Esther, and them outside the bar, smoking again. Lots of other people were standing around them as well, music from inside the bar blasting through the door.   
Armie was telling a story and having a loud, apparently hysterical conversation about.. _something_.  
Timmy had stopped paying attention.  
Because Armie had his arm loosely around his shoulders.    
And that was a little distracting. Turns out alcohol only enhanced the tension he felt between them. He should have known that. He didn’t mind. Until now.   
Because Armies arm had been like that for a while. Maybe five minutes.  
Timmy was starting to feel like maybe it was getting weird.  
  
But why would that be weird? _It’s only weird to you, dumbass.  
  
_ Armie laughed because something the cameraman said was funny, which made his arm move somehow and now he had a firm grip on Timmys upper arm, gesticulating with the other while holding his cigarette.

Was Armie aware that he was doing that?  
Was this weird? Or was it just... like... casual?  
  
Timmy was _very_ tipsy.  
And he had to pee.    
He didn’t want to leave though. He did enjoy armies arm being there.  
  
“Haha! No really, he just told me to suck it up”, Armie said but Timmy still had no idea what that was about.  
_I have to pee.  
_ This position they were in _was_ weird. _Right??_    
“Are you alright?”, Armie turned and looked down at him, probably because he had been so quiet.  
“Yeah I just have to… pee.”, he said and looked up at Armie, who’s face was _very_ close.  
He noticed a little stubble _._  
He remembered feeling that when kissing him today. Definitely a sensation he hadn’t felt when kissing before.  
“Oh haha okay go, we’ll wait here”, Armie said, looking back at the guy talking in front of him.  
“I can’t... you’re.. holding on to me”, Timmy said quietly, so that just Armie could hear.  
To be fair he hadn’t really tried and he probably could get out of his grip. But he didn’t necessarily want him to let go. But also he felt like he was going to burst.  
“Oh.” Armie laughed and let go of him. He seemed to not have even noticed that he was doing that.    
The others were not staring at them and Timmy was very glad. Not weird. Just friendly.  
He didn’t like being drunk like this around Armie, it felt like he couldn’t control _shit_ anymore and that he might be giving away… stuff. But at the same time he didn't mind. _Ugh._  
  
“No no, he’ll be right back just has to go to the bathroom,“ he heard Armie saying, as he went inside and made his way through the sweaty crowd. He saw a group of guys standing by the bar. They were watching him, it was pretty obvious.  
_If_ he had such thing as a gaydar, which he wasn’t too sure he had, but _if_ ..then that would say those guys were definitely checking him out.

 _Mh.  
_ He thought about that the entire time he was in the bathroom and when he walked back out and felt their eyes on him again, he suddenly felt very good about himself.

Once he was back outside, someone suggested they could go to a club not far from where they were, and so they left. They were a group of six and everyone started speaking a mix of Italian and French very quickly, so Timmy and Armie fell behind a little.  
  
„I’m so glad I have you dude, at least one person that speaks English like what the hell would I do without you here“, Armie laughed.  
They were close to home again, Timmy recognized some stores they passed.  
There was no one else on the streets, he wasn’t even sure what time it was and he didn’t bother to check. Armie told him about all the things the camera man had told him about Luca before and so they got into a drunk conversation about their director.  
„I think he’s like a magician or something. He’s a genius. I mean how did he know we’d even get along?? We didn’t even have a chemistry test or audition or anything. He’s a genius. Sometimes I feel like he knows me better than I know myself and sometimes he really pisses me off because of that….“, Armie actually looked pissed for a second and then chuckled at his own words.

They were _really_ falling behind now. Timmy noticed but didn't care too much either. The others were very far away and probably too drunk to notice _or care_ that they were missing two.  
Timmy felt himself sobering up a little, the walking helped. Not much though. He was still pretty drunk.

„Wait, what, where are they?“, Timmy said and stopped in his tracks when he realized they could turn left _or_ right and he couldn’t see the others in either direction.  
„Ah shit.“, Armie stopped too and started laughing. „Just you and me now Timothée, where the fuck do we go!?“ He pronounced Timmys name the French way. Well, he tried.  
He deliberately bumped into Timmys left side while saying that too, and Timmy felt his body heating up at the touch.  
_Nope. Nooooooo no, just ignore it_.    
_Ugh.  
Ignoring is hard when not sober.  
Why am I ignoring it again?  
  
_ „Let’s just try this way, maybe we can hear them..“, Timmy said and pointed to the left. He was really just trying to get away from Armies body because he was pretty sure his own body heat was giving away every thought on his mind.  
He turned his head to look up at Armie who wasn’t saying anything. _Man he’s tall._  
Timmy heard _and felt_ Armie breathing out heavily. They were still standing side by side, arms still lightly touching.  
_This is a long… moment?  
No. Just drunk. Normal.    
__No… maybe long though?  
_  
Armie still wasn’t saying anything, he just looked straight ahead. „You.. do you wanna go that way or?“, Timmy asked him, staring up at him still. _Stubble. He has to shave. Oliver doesn’t have a beard._    
  
Armie looked down at him. They were standing so close to each other. Tingles. Immediately.   
_What is this?  
No, this is normal. It’s all good…  
__... no it isn't.  
  
_ They looked at each other for a few seconds and Timmy suddenly realized he was staring at Armies mouth, still looking at the stubbles on his chin.  
It seemed like hours passed. At least one. Maybe it was the alcohol, but Timmy didn’t look away this time. He didn’t fear the eyes that he was now looking into, he didn’t care as much as he had just a few hours ago.  
The voice in his head, telling him to stop, to ignore the feeling, whatever it was, was very quiet all of a sudden. He wasn’t thinking _anything_ really.  
Just that Armies face was pretty. It was a pretty face.  
He embraced the silence, because Armie was still not saying anything and he enjoyed letting his eyes wander all over Armies face and for some reason he didn’t care.  
Armie was doing the same and then he smiled. Timmy smiled too.  
_What’s happening. Is he okay? Is this an appropriate time to feel like something is happening._  
Armie looked away suddenly, smile still on his face. He took a step forward and then turned around, facing Timmy, standing directly in front of him. Timmys eyes followed him.  
_  
_ They looked at each other. Timmys eyes wandering from Armies eyes to his nose, to his mouth, to his chin, to his mouth again and back to his eyes. He didn’t give a single fuck suddenly. He couldn’t even think properly. God he was tipsy.  
Usually he would have already said something, would have taken five steps back, would have a million thoughts running through his head.  
But now he was just standing there, taking in the sight of Armies _very_ close face. His heart was racing though. And the party in his stomach now included fireworks. And that was scary, but not scary enough to look away. Armie decided to stand this close and stare him down? He wouldn’t back away. _I can stare you down too.  
  
_ Timmy _was_ more in his head than he thought he was though because he hadn't even noticed that Armie had stopped smiling. He had a serious expression on his face that Timmy couldn’t identify, all he could tell was that Armies eyes slowly wandered over his face and rested on his lips.  
  
And then his did too.  
Lips.  
They were so close.  
And then Armie leaned closer. Down. Just his upper body and his face. Armie blinked a lot, still staring at Timmys lips, who wasn’t moving just staring.  
  
_This is…. Is he gonna kiss me, does he wanna kiss me, why do I think he's kissing me.  
  
_ Armies eyes moved to Timmys and they looked at each other for a second. Timmy felt like if anyone said anything now, this would be over. Whatever it is.  
They both looked at each others lips again and Armie raised his hand to gently hold Timmys chin. A burst of tingles and lightening bolts shot through his entire body again. _Oh my god._  
Armies head moved closer and now Timmy moved his as well. Armies fingers weren’t guiding him much, they were just resting there but he felt the slightest pressure, urging him upwards.  
They moved closer, very slowly, eyes resting on lips still, Timmys thoughts suddenly running wild again but a lot less structured than usual and they were never really structured anyway. _Kissing me, he’s kissing me. I’m kissing him. This isn't like some joke right, we’re kissing right? This is definitely what's happening.  
Closer. _ And closer. _  
_ And then their lips connected. Both their eyes closing at the same time. Timmys knees gave in a little.  
It was such a soft kiss. Softer than any kiss they’ve ever had. More careful. Calm. Private. It was them and not Elio and Oliver. This was a kiss between them and that’s what it felt like. Similar to the first kiss in the second and final take at the berm today, but yet.. so different.  
Timmy started feeling lightheaded because the sensations in his body were almost too much. He couldn’t think. Armies lips tasted like cigarettes and gin.  
_  
_ Once their lips slowly parted they both opened their eyes and looked at each others lips again for a split second. Timmy felt a little dizzy and he probably swayed a little. Maybe Armie noticed, or maybe it was just what Armie felt like doing in the moment because he moved his hand on Timmys chin and now gently but firmly held his face, fingers in Timmys curls. And then Armie moved closer and kissed him again and so did Timmy at the same time. They kissed, and kissed again. Lips moving perfectly together, as if they had done this a billion times before. It was still soft. But with more intent now.   
Armies lips tasted and felt familiar but this still felt like was kissing a completely new person. Like he’d never really kissed Armie before. Which he really hadn’t. Not like this.  
Timmy felt Armies tongue and opened his mouth a little and met it with his own.  
_God this feels good._ That was all Timmy could think. Nothing else. Just that and the feeling of a swarm of butterflies attacking his insides. And he loved them.  
They were making out. Full on kissing. Full on making out with no intent to pull apart. Still slow though and Armie raised his other hand that had long before dropped the cigarette and held onto Timmys face with both now.  
Timmy raised his hands as well and held onto Armies sides, kind of glad to be held and hold on to something. The touch made Armie move even closer to him, bodys now touching, hands on each other. Lips moving, tongues touching.  
Nothing on Timmys mind. Nothing, except that this was good and he for once, agreed with his stomach. He had no idea how long it's been. It felt like hours.   
  
It was quiet, just some birds somewhere and the sounds of them kissing until Timmy suddenly heard voices. A female laugh and a couple other female sounding voices echoing through the streets. He didn’t stop kissing Armie, but Armie must have heard the voices too, because he stopped. Timmy felt like Elio, trying to go in for more, too lost in the kiss to notice that it was ending.  
_No no no don’t stop._  
But Armie stopped. He still held onto Timmys face and Timmy still held on to Armies sides, gripping his shirt. Timmy opened his eyes and looked at Armie. He was staring down at him, still looking at his lips, but this moment was now over, Timmy could tell. It was over.  
The voices got louder. _They’re coming this way._  
Armie let go of Timmys face which immediately felt a lot colder than before but still tingled and Timmy let go of Armie too.  
They still looked at each other. Still at each others lips. Still standing incredibly close to each other.  
The voices got even louder.  
_Man those people are having a fun time, yelling shit in Italian, waking up the entire neighborhood._ Timmy was genuinely a little annoyed.  
But also incredibly confused. His reasonable thoughts were slowly coming back to him. _What just happened. But.. why do they have to interrupt._  
Then the voices got quieter again and faded off into the distance.  
They weren’t coming this way.  
  
But Armie took a step back now. Timmy stared into his eyes, still not minding the deep scary ocean they seemed to be pulling him into. _So what._ Armies eyes wandered all over Timmys face again. They found Timmys eyes, shifting from one to the other and then he quickly looked away.  
And then Armie laughed. Rubbing his eyes with his hands swiftly, as if surprised at himself, as if surprised at what the hell just happened, as if maybe even embarrassed by what just happened, and said: „Oh... wow.“ More to himself than to Timmy.  
Armies facial expression turned from _„positively overwhelmed“_ to  _"confused"_ and then something a lot more serious.  
And all of a sudden Timothée felt very sober.  
_  
__  
_

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (do you have any ideas why Timmy was the shower for so long in the beginning mhhhh who knows I mean what could it be lolol hehe sexy thoughts)


End file.
